


I'm With You | Tony Stark x Reader |

by TonyStarks_Girl



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Chance Meetings, F/M, First Meeting, Funeral, Howard and Maria's death, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicidal tony, attempted suicide, i did a poll and they said do both, one happy, one sad, soup bar, there's two endings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-29 22:20:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6396157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TonyStarks_Girl/pseuds/TonyStarks_Girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I wasn't lying when I said I don't have any money, by the way."</p><p>"How were you planning to pay then?"</p><p>"Eat and run."</p><p>"Tony."</p><p>"IOU."</p><p>"Tony."</p><p>"Open a tab."</p><p>"They don't do that here."</p><p>"Wash dishes?"</p><p>"Have you ever washed a dish in your life?"</p><p>"I don't see your point."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ending 1

The sun had gone down hours ago. Gently and gradually, he watched the source of light and heat descend beyond the horizon. Did the sun really set, or did Earth just need to get away from it? Logically, he knew the reason it phased from day to night. It was just time for a change.

But why? Why was there change? Because things couldn't stay the same forever? Was it the only way people could grow?

He couldn't mature without parents.

Phones were ringing off the hook when it happened. It was on the news, it was already pressed to be in the paper the next day, and it was all anyone would talk about

_HOWARD AND MARIA STARK: VICTIMS OF FATAL CAR CRASH!!!_

Why did that have to change? He wasn't ready for a world without Mom and Dad. He didn't have the capability to take care of himself properly. Mom seemed to always be in his ear, reminding him to break, study, shower, _eat_ …

How the hell was he gonna get by? He couldn't run Dad's company! Dad never got the chance to teach him how to be a businessman. Someone else would have to run it, and he'd probably never get it back if that happened. Business was a cruel world.

And as if the day wasn't already bad enough, he felt a few random drops of water splash against his olive skin and pitch-black hair. His chocolate eyes shut and he sat there, feeling the rain begin to pour down heavily. Goosebumps littered his body, the poor boy shivering uncontrollably. It was late, wintertime, and he didn't grab a jacket when he ran off; he was screwed.

As he sat there on the edge of the bridge, he was smacked with a realization almost as hard than the news of his mother and father dying. Why wasn't anyone looking for him? Heir of Stark Industries disappears for _hours_ , completely ruined by grief, and not a single person bothered to even call his cell phone Nobody cared about him. Jarvis had died years ago, succumbing to the cancer he'd fought for many years. Hell, Dad wasn't even around for a majority of his childhood… Why'd he even have a child if he wasn't going to take care of him like a father should? He had a nanny until he was _fourteen years old!_

He sniffed and carefully stood up, seeing sparkles of moonlight in the rippling waves. But before he could do anything instantly regrettable, there were footsteps rushing towards him, a small hand grasping his instantly, as tight as humanly possible.

"I swear to Christ, if you jump, I'll kill you before we hit the water."

He opened his eyes and looked down at her, eyebrows coming together. Why the hell was she stopping him? She didn't know him, so why should she care?

"Please come down." She begged, "I'm with you, buddy. Just come down here with me."

"Why?"

She gently tugged him towards herself, "Doesn't matter why, just get down here!"

He slipped off the edge of the bridge, falling on top of her, each of them crashing down onto the wet road. The rain was deaf on her ears as his warm body covered hers. The nineteen-year-old scrambled off of the woman, pushing his wet hair out of his eyes and looking down at her. He swallowed thickly, Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he knelt back to the ground, helping her off of the road.

She fruitlessly tried to wipe away the rain from her face, drenched hands making a valiant attempt to dry off on her jeans. Her hands eventually just flopped down at her sides and she looked at her companion with her crystal orbs, gazing into his soul it seemed.

"Look… It's late, it's freezing, and to top it off it's raining. So let's just… Let's just go. I know this place, it's warm and nice and… Something you need."

She took his hand tightly, not even waiting for his consent. Like hell she was gonna leave him alone after that. And who the hell would he be to refuse? She didn't know him, but that didn't mean she couldn't care.

He was quiet the entire walk. She glanced at him and smiled softly. "Helluva night to rain outta nowhere. What happened to that clear sky from an hour ago?"

He shrugged, bowing his head down in favor of the road over her eyes. She took his hint and just kept walking, idly chatting to the temporary brick wall. He'd open up at some point, she was sure. But he had problems, clearly, and there was no point in taking offense to his unresponsive nature. He was in a state similar to a baby's right now; he needed someone to just talk and talk to him, regardless if he was saying anything back or not.  
  
Eventually they ended up in a soup bar, the woman taking the liberty of ordering for him. He was staring down at his hands, but the shivering had stopped, at the very least. The Soup Bar was always a cozy place, and all of the employees were so friendly. Her lips twisted in a slight, sympathetic pout and she reached across the table.  
  
"Hey... Um, I don't think I actually told you my name. It's (Name)."  
  
"Tony." He muttered, not meeting your gaze. He didn't need the sympathy. What he needed?  
  
Soup. Warm, amazingly good soup with an awesome roll to dip in his soup.  
  
"So, Tony..."  
  
"You wanna know why I tried to kill myself?" He asked.  
  
"All I want to know is what you're willing to tell me."  
  
Again his hands became a point of interest for him, his voice not up to the task of speaking with her. She shrugged and looked outside, the rain still pouring as hard as ever.  
  
"It's beautiful." She said softly.  
  
His dark eyebrows crunched together, "The rain?"  
  
"Yeah." She switched her gaze over to the poor boy, "It's always seen as this sad, depressing thing, but I don't think that's true. Firstly, we're getting the water we need to live, so that's a positive. Plants are growing, which create oxygen that give us the ability to breathe, and above all, it's simply stunning. It's hard to see at this time of night, but next time it rains, just look at the sky. Look at the puddles, and the individual drops falling on the windows. The sound is so calming, too. It may be dark, but you know what they say in the movies. Well, it's normally said by Anthony Hopkins, actually."  
  
Tony managed a soft chuckle, "In darkness, there is light."  
  
She grinned, "Exactly. There's always a light in a dark time. Sometimes you just gotta look for it, and others..."  
  
"Just... It comes outta nowhere."  
  
"Now you're gettin' it." The conversation was cut short as the soup arrived, Tony being presently surprised by his bread bowl. She laughed at his rather excited expression and he joined in, feeling much better than he had before.  
  
Dinner wasn't chatty in the slightest, but that was more due to the fact that you picked the best restaurant in existence to eat at. There was a minor riff in the overall amiable nature of the meal when it came time for paying for it, but was ultimately settled by the tossing of Tony's credit card onto the table and the waiter picking it up as he walked by. Tony sighed heavily, the window his source of entertainment.  
  
"Those rain drops do look nice." He commented softly.  
  
"Told you so." Her grin was infectious, as it spread rather quickly onto Tony's own face.  
  
Soon enough, Tony's credit card was back in his wallet and the two were out on the sidewalk.  
  
"Suppose we should... Part ways now."  
  
" _Or_  we could go to my apartment and watch a movie." She slyly suggested.  
  
"And if I'm a killer?"  
  
"The only person I'm worried about you hurting is yourself. Come on, I've got ice cream calling our names."  
  
"Cookies and cream or no dice." Tony was becoming much more lively than he had been, and his brown eyes were nearly sparkling.  
  
"Is there any other kind?" She asked coyly, taking his hand.  
  
xXx  
  
Tony hadn't intended to stay the night. But he just couldn't help it. Where else was he needed? Or wanted, for that matter. Obi might have been looking for him, but chances were he was arranging things for the business. He wouldn't deal with the funeral prep; that'd be Tony's job, as their only child and as an adult.  
  
Only problem was, he didn't want to. Truthfully, he didn't know what the hell he wanted. He wanted to be pissed, to hate them, to never have to hear their names again... Be free from everything Howard and Maria Stark, the worst parents he could've been cursed with.  
  
But he couldn't.  
  
That was "Mommy and Daddy" and they were gone and they weren't coming back and he didn't even get to tell them _he loved them more than anything in the world...!_  
  
Tony placed his hand over his chest, heart thumping a thousand miles a minute. He had to go. It was three a.m., but he _had to go_. He didn't even think twice before pulling his Chucks on and heading out, making sure the door was locked at the very least before he sprinted off. He didn't stop until he was home, at the mansion, and in the bedroom his parents had been in that morning. Tears were flowing heavily and his hands were shaking as he picked up the framed picture Howard had on his side table.  
  
It was Tony when he was four years old.  
  
The teen crumbled down the the ground, photo clutched to his chest and face pressed into the comforter of the bed.  
  
It was over. They were gone, and he was on his own.  
  
_"I miss you..."_  
  
xXx  
  
Tony'd lost the tie an hour ago, and he didn't know where the hell it was, but it didn't really matter. He'd never wear it again even if he needed it. He'd probably burn it, actually. Now where the hell did he put it...?  
  
Oh yeah, the bitch by the open bar took it from him. Y'know, _after_  she tried to seduce him after his parents' _fucking funeral._  Least she left it there after he rejected her, because _damn honey, he can only deal with so many dummy body parts._  As half-assed as he could, the tie was slung around the collar of his dress shirt and hanging down his torso, the jacket open and his hair lightly tussled. Oh he was pleasantly drunk, yes.  
  
And all he could think about was some soup. Hot, delicious, served _in a fucking bread bowl_ , soup. He was only _slightly_ drunk; and he was Tony Stark, if anyone had a problem with that little snippet of intoxication. Only hard part was remembering where the _fuck_  it was. Somehow, the words "soup, bread bowl, and hot chick" didn't get him very far. But soon enough he found it, cried a little on the inside, and headed inside, requesting a table for one because _hellooooo_  his parents were dead; the fuck's gonna take him out now?  
  
Hey! Least he was sobered up from all that damn searching.  
  
"Make that table for two." A new voice interjected.  
  
"Hope you're paying, 'cause I don't have any money..." He muttered before looking over. He stopped for a moment, blinked, and then looked back at the host, "The hell you waitin' on? I want some soup."  
  
They followed the man to the empty booth, each of them sliding in and Tony cutting right to the chase. "Dude, chicken noodle, that fucking bread bowl, and a Sprite."  
  
The man's eyebrows rose, as he wasn't even a waiter. He glanced at the woman next to Tony, who merely shrugged and mouthed, 'Just do it; he buried his parents.'  
  
The host scribbled down your usual and handed it off to another employee who was actually paid to deal with this shit. She looked back at Tony, who was staring at her with those honest, what-the-fuck eyes of his.  
  
"I'm gonna take a shot and the dark and say this wasn't an accident."  
  
"Well, not exactly. I wasn't planning on having soup at eleven at night, but I heard you talking to the clerk at my apartment building so I followed along."  
  
"I wasn't lying when I said I don't have any money, by the way."  
  
"How were you planning to pay then?"  
  
"Eat and run."  
  
"Tony."  
  
"IOU."  
  
"Tony."  
  
"Open a tab."  
  
"They don't do that here."  
  
"Wash dishes?"  
  
"Have you ever washed a dish in your life?"  
  
"I don't see your point."  
  
She could only chuckle and shake her head, "You're a mess, Tony."  
  
"I tell ya, it's gotta be somethin' to do with that dead parents gig..."  
  
"Tony-"  
  
"Now I'm qualified to be a superhero, probably."  
  
"How much did you drink? I can smell it over here."  
  
"What's your name again?"  
  
"Too much."  
  
"Not. Enough."  
  
"Eat your soup, Tony."  
  
"It's not- Well I'll be damned." The soup was placed in front of him and he didn't say another word, immediately dunking his spoon into the hot soup and closing his pink lips around it, doing his best to not show how much pain the whole not waiting thing caused him.  
  
Which he displayed by dropping the spoon, swallowing the scorching soup and pushing his lips close together while his eyes watered.  
  
"Drink your water."  
  
"Ordered... Sprite..." He managed.  
  
"I told the waiter to get you water."  
  
"When?"  
  
"Don't worry about that."  
  
He raised his glass to his lips and sipped the ice cold drink, body relaxing in the chair and his Adam's apple bobbing again in a way that was just too damn sexy. After half the glass was emptied he set his down, taking the time to blow on the beverage/meal before consuming it. And once again, the dinner was eaten in silence.  
  
"My place?"  
  
"Only if I can stay the night."  
  
"As long as you don't leave without goodbye."  
  
Tony looked into her eyes, his chocolate orbs the most serious they'd been the whole night.  
  
"Deal."  
  
xXx  
(Eight Years Later)  
  
"Babe, gimme a kiss, I've gotta meeting." Tony said absently, fixing his tie in the mirror.  
  
"Do you have to go?" Her voice was small.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Can you stay?"  
  
He tore his gaze from his reflection, eyes softening. "Why?"  
  
Her nails raked up and down her arm and her eyes looked dead. "I just... I miss you. You haven't been home in so long..."  
  
"I was here last night-"  
  
"-And stayed for more than a day ever since Iron Man... Y'know... Three years ago... And I-I miss you."  
  
He reached forward, eyebrows furrowing at your slight flinch, "Hey, hey... Look, after this meeting, I'll come home and _stay_. I'm with you, okay?"  
  
"You can't stay now? Can't Pepper go for you? I... Want you to stay."  
  
"No, she can't. Babe, I'm coming back. Now I gotta go." He leaned forward and gently kissed her lips before rushing out, keys and briefcase in hand.  
  
She sighed, "J.A.R.V.I.S.?"  
  
_"Miss?"_  
  
"I love you."  
  
_"I cannot feel, but I'm sure I would reciprocate the feelings if I could, Miss."_  
  
"Tell Iron Man something for me?"  
  
_"Whatever you need, Miss."_  
  
"I'm with you, Tony. Always."  
  
xXx  
  
Tony sat down, eyes wet and his tie loose, just like that night eight years prior. He'd have to burn that one too. Fuck, he'd have to burn the whole fucking suit. Maybe the house. Shit, he'd just set himself on fire and call it a life.  
  
"Well..." He started. "Dead parents, dead wife... Now I'm officially qualified to be a superhero."  
  
"Why'd you do it?"  
  
"I was coming back... I told you I was coming back."  
  
"Why didn't you talk to me?"  
  
"I could've helped..."  
  
"You just needed to _talk_  to me!"  
  
"Why...?"  
  
Tears streamed and streamed, his throat going raw from all of his screaming and shouting at the sky. At her. At himself. How could she leave like that?  
  
That same bridge...  
  
"It's cold... I don't think it's from the fifty degree weather either."  
  
"I love you."  
  
"I'm with you."  
  
"But you're not with me."  
  
"Not anymore."  
  
"No one is."  
  
_(NAME) STARK: VICTIM OF CRIPPLING DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE!_  
  
"Told me I couldn't leave without saying goodbye..."  
  
"So why did you?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lol, forgot I didn't do the scheduled upload on here. My bad. Day late, dollar short?

The sun had gone down hours ago. Gently and gradually, he watched the source of light and heat descend beyond the horizon. Did the sun really set, or did Earth just need to get away from it? Logically, he knew the reason it phased from day to night. It was just time for a change.

But why? Why was there change? Because things couldn't stay the same forever? Was it the only way people could grow?

He couldn't mature without parents.

Phones were ringing off the hook when it happened. It was on the news, it was already pressed to be in the paper the next day, and it was all anyone would talk about.

_HOWARD AND MARIA STARK: VICTIMS OF FATAL CAR CRASH!!!_

Why did that have to change? He wasn't ready for a world without Mom and Dad. He didn't have the capability to take care of himself properly. Mom seemed to always be in his ear, reminding him to break, study, shower,  _eat_ …

How the hell was he gonna get by? He couldn't run Dad's company! Dad never got the chance to teach him how to be a businessman. Someone else would have to run it, and he'd probably never get it back if that happened. Business was a cruel world.

And as if the day wasn't already bad enough, he felt a few random drops of water splash against his olive skin and pitch-black hair. His chocolate eyes shut and he sat there, feeling the rain begin to pour down heavily. Goosebumps littered his body, the poor boy shivering uncontrollably. It was late, wintertime, and he didn't grab a jacket when he ran off; he was screwed.

As he sat there on the edge of the bridge, he was smacked with a realization almost as hard than the news of his mother and father dying. Why wasn't anyone looking for him? Heir of Stark Industries disappears for  _hours_ , completely ruined by grief, and not a single person bothered to even call his cell phone Nobody cared about him. Jarvis had died years ago, succumbing to the cancer he'd fought for many years. Hell, Dad wasn't even around for a majority of his childhood… Why'd he even have a child if he wasn't going to take care of him like a father should? He had a nanny until he was  _fourteen years old!_

He sniffed and carefully stood up, seeing sparkles of moonlight in the rippling waves. But before he could do anything instantly regrettable, there were footsteps rushing towards him, a small hand grasping his instantly, as tight as humanly possible.

"I swear to Christ, if you jump, I'll kill you before we hit the water."

He opened his eyes and looked down at her, eyebrows coming together. Why the hell was she stopping him? She didn't know him, so why should she care?

"Please come down." She begged, "I'm with you, buddy. Just come down here with me."

"Why?"

She gently tugged him towards herself, "Doesn't matter why, just get down here!"

He slipped off the edge of the bridge, falling on top of her, each of them crashing down onto the wet road. The rain was deaf on her ears as his warm body covered hers. The nineteen-year-old scrambled off of the woman, pushing his wet hair out of his eyes and looking down at her. He swallowed thickly, Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he knelt back to the ground, helping her off of the road.

She fruitlessly tried to wipe away the rain from her face, drenched hands making a valiant attempt to dry off on her jeans. Her hands eventually just flopped down at her sides and she looked at her companion with her crystal orbs, gazing into his soul it seemed.

"Look… It's late, it's freezing, and to top it off it's raining. So let's just… Let's just go. I know this place, it's warm and nice and… Something you need."

She took his hand tightly, not even waiting for his consent. Like hell she was gonna leave him alone after that. And who the hell would he be to refuse? She didn't know him, but that didn't mean she couldn't care.

He was quiet the entire walk. She glanced at him and smiled softly. "Helluva night to rain outta nowhere. What happened to that clear sky from an hour ago?"

He shrugged, bowing his head down in favor of the road over her eyes. She took his hint and just kept walking, idly chatting to the temporary brick wall. He'd open up at some point, she was sure. But he had problems, clearly, and there was no point in taking offense to his unresponsive nature. He was in a state similar to a baby's right now; he needed someone to just talk and talk to him, regardless if he was saying anything back or not.  
  
Eventually they ended up in a soup bar, the woman taking the liberty of ordering for him. He was staring down at his hands, but the shivering had stopped, at the very least. The Soup Bar was always a cozy place, and all of the employees were so friendly. Her lips twisted in a slight, sympathetic pout and she reached across the table.  
  
"Hey... Um, I don't think I actually told you my name. It's (Name)."  
  
"Tony." He muttered, not meeting your gaze. He didn't need the sympathy. What he needed?  
  
Soup. Warm, amazingly good soup with an awesome roll to dip in his soup.  
  
"So, Tony..."  
  
"You wanna know why I tried to kill myself?" He asked.  
  
"All I want to know is what you're willing to tell me."  
  
Again his hands became a point of interest for him, his voice not up to the task of speaking with her. She shrugged and looked outside, the rain still pouring as hard as ever.  
  
"It's beautiful." She said softly.  
  
His dark eyebrows crunched together, "The rain?"  
  
"Yeah." She switched her gaze over to the poor boy, "It's always seen as this sad, depressing thing, but I don't think that's true. Firstly, we're getting the water we need to live, so that's a positive. Plants are growing, which create oxygen that give us the ability to breathe, and above all, it's simply stunning. It's hard to see at this time of night, but next time it rains, just look at the sky. Look at the puddles, and the individual drops falling on the windows. The sound is so calming, too. It may be dark, but you know what they say in the movies. Well, it's normally said by Anthony Hopkins, actually."  
  
Tony managed a soft chuckle, "In darkness, there is light."  
  
She grinned, "Exactly. There's always a light in a dark time. Sometimes you just gotta look for it, and others..."  
  
"Just... It comes outta nowhere."  
  
"Now you're gettin' it." The conversation was cut short as the soup arrived, Tony being presently surprised by his bread bowl. She laughed at his rather excited expression and he joined in, feeling much better than he had before.  
  
Dinner wasn't chatty in the slightest, but that was more due to the fact that you picked the best restaurant in existence to eat at. There was a minor riff in the overall amiable nature of the meal when it came time for paying for it, but was ultimately settled by the tossing of Tony's credit card onto the table and the waiter picking it up as he walked by. Tony sighed heavily, the window his source of entertainment.  
  
"Those rain drops do look nice." He commented softly.  
  
"Told you so." Her grin was infectious, as it spread rather quickly onto Tony's own face.  
  
Soon enough, Tony's credit card was back in his wallet and the two were out on the sidewalk.  
  
"Suppose we should... Part ways now."  
  
" _Or_  we could go to my apartment and watch a movie." She slyly suggested.  
  
"And if I'm a killer?"  
  
"The only person I'm worried about you hurting is yourself. Come on, I've got ice cream calling our names."  
  
"Cookies and cream or no dice." Tony was becoming much more lively than he had been, and his brown eyes were nearly sparkling.  
  
"Is there any other kind?" She asked coyly, taking his hand.  
  
xXx  
  
Tony hadn't intended to stay the night. But he just couldn't help it. Where else was he needed? Or wanted, for that matter. Obi might have been looking for him, but chances were he was arranging things for the business. He wouldn't deal with the funeral prep; that'd be Tony's job, as their only child and as an adult.  
  
Only problem was, he didn't want to. Truthfully, he didn't know what the hell he wanted. He wanted to be pissed, to hate them, to never have to hear their names again... Be free from everything Howard and Maria Stark, the worst parents he could've been cursed with.  
  
But he couldn't.  
  
That was "Mommy and Daddy" and they were gone and they weren't coming back and he didn't even get to tell them  _he loved them more than anything in the world...!_  
  
Tony placed his hand over his chest, heart thumping a thousand miles a minute. He had to go. It was three a.m., but he  _had to go_. He didn't even think twice before pulling his Chucks on and heading out, making sure the door was locked at the very least before he sprinted off. He didn't stop until he was home, at the mansion, and in the bedroom his parents had been in that morning. Tears were flowing heavily and his hands were shaking as he picked up the framed picture Howard had on his side table.  
  
It was Tony when he was four years old.  
  
The teen crumbled down the the ground, photo clutched to his chest and face pressed into the comforter of the bed.  
  
It was over. They were gone, and he was on his own.  
  
_"I miss you..."_  
  
xXx  
  
Tony'd lost the tie an hour ago, and he didn't know where the hell it was, but it didn't really matter. He'd never wear it again even if he needed it. He'd probably burn it, actually. Now where the hell did he put it...?  
  
Oh yeah, the bitch by the open bar took it from him. Y'know,  _after_  she tried to seduce him after his parents'  _fucking funeral._  Least she left it there after he rejected her, because  _damn honey, he can only deal with so many dummy body parts._  As half-assed as he could, the tie was slung around the collar of his dress shirt and hanging down his torso, the jacket open and his hair lightly tussled. Oh he was pleasantly drunk, yes.  
  
And all he could think about was some soup. Hot, delicious, served  _in a fucking bread bowl_ , soup. He was only  _slightly_  drunk; and he was Tony Stark, if anyone had a problem with that little snippet of intoxication. Only hard part was remembering where the  _fuck_  it was. Somehow, the words "soup, bread bowl, and hot chick" didn't get him very far. But soon enough he found it, cried a little on the inside, and headed inside, requesting a table for one because  _hellooooo_  his parents were dead; the fuck's gonna take him out now?  
  
Hey! Least he was sobered up from all that damn searching.  
  
"Make that table for two." A new voice interjected.  
  
"Hope you're paying, 'cause I don't have any money..." He muttered before looking over. He stopped for a moment, blinked, and then looked back at the host, "The hell you waitin' on? I want some soup."  
  
They followed the man to the empty booth, each of them sliding in and Tony cutting right to the chase. "Dude, chicken noodle, that fucking bread bowl, and a Sprite."  
  
The man's eyebrows rose, as he wasn't even a waiter. He glanced at the woman next to Tony, who merely shrugged and mouthed, 'Just do it; he buried his parents.'  
  
The host scribbled down your usual and handed it off to another employee who was actually paid to deal with this shit. She looked back at Tony, who was staring at her with those honest, what-the-fuck eyes of his.  
  
"I'm gonna take a shot and the dark and say this wasn't an accident."  
  
"Well, not exactly. I wasn't planning on having soup at eleven at night, but I heard you talking to the clerk at my apartment building so I followed along."  
  
"I wasn't lying when I said I don't have any money, by the way."  
  
"How were you planning to pay then?"  
  
"Eat and run."  
  
"Tony."  
  
"IOU."  
  
"Tony."  
  
"Open a tab."  
  
"They don't do that here."  
  
"Wash dishes?"  
  
"Have you ever washed a dish in your life?"  
  
"I don't see your point."  
  
She could only chuckle and shake her head, "You're a mess, Tony."  
  
"I tell ya, it's gotta be somethin' to do with that dead parents gig..."  
  
"Tony-"  
  
"Now I'm qualified to be a superhero, probably."  
  
"How much did you drink? I can smell it over here."  
  
"What's your name again?"  
  
"Too much."  
  
"Not. Enough."  
  
"Eat your soup, Tony."  
  
"It's not- Well I'll be damned." The soup was placed in front of him and he didn't say another word, immediately dunking his spoon into the hot soup and closing his pink lips around it, doing his best to not show how much pain the whole not waiting thing caused him.  
  
Which he displayed by dropping the spoon, swallowing the scorching soup and pushing his lips close together while his eyes watered.  
  
"Drink your water."  
  
"Ordered... Sprite..." He managed.  
  
"I told the waiter to get you water."  
  
"When?"  
  
"Don't worry about that."  
  
He raised his glass to his lips and sipped the ice cold drink, body relaxing in the chair and his Adam's apple bobbing again in a way that was just too damn sexy. After half the glass was emptied he set his down, taking the time to blow on the beverage/meal before consuming it. And once again, the dinner was eaten in silence.  
  
"My place?"  
  
"Only if I can stay the night."  
  
"As long as you don't leave without goodbye."  
  
Tony looked into her eyes, his chocolate orbs the most serious they'd been the whole night.  
  
"Deal."  
  
xXx  
(Eight Years Later)  
  
"Babe, gimme a kiss, I've gotta meeting." Tony said absently, fixing his tie in the mirror.  
  
"Do you have to go?" Her voice was small.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Can you stay?"  
  
He tore his gaze from his reflection, eyes softening. "Why?"  
  
Her nails raked up and down her arm and her eyes looked dead. "I just... I miss you. You haven't been home in so long..."  
  
"I was here last night-"  
  
"-And stayed for more than a day ever since Iron Man... Y'know... Three years ago... And I-I miss you."  
  
He reached forward, eyebrows furrowing at your slight flinch, "Hey, hey... What's going on?"  
  
"Tony..." She whispered.  
  
She was a spitting image of him the night they met. And _that_  thought in itself was terrifying.  
  
"Baby, what's going on?"  
  
"I want to die." She whispered.  
  
Tony's broken, smashed and splintered heart had never been more shattered before. She rushed into his arms and just sobbed, Tony's suit being ruined without a care in the world. His fingers ran through her hair and he coaxed the problem out of her, listening to her speak. Her problems stemmed from something he'd tried to lock away and ignore, but she couldn't do the same. And his lack of acknowledgement only harmed her further.  
  
"Tony..."  
  
He hiccuped, "I know... I want him back too."  
  
"I... I didn't even know... Until..."  
  
"I know... Neither of us did."  
  
"So... Such a late..."  
  
"Baby, you don't have to talk-"  
  
"We need to talk about it, Tony!" She screamed.  
  
His chocolate eyes gazed into hers, and suddenly he understood the world. He opened up his jacket, undid his tie, and took his wife's hand tightly in his. She didn't breathe a word, just held his hand as tightly as she could, and _just let him go_. He was the lifeline she needed. The only person she had.  
  
They sat in the bar for hours, long enough for _two meals_. They named him, cried over him, fantasized about him...  
  
"Babe?"  
  
She wiped her mouth, tears gone but her eyes still red. "Yeah?"  
  
"Let's bring him back."  
  
She frowned, "What?"  
  
"Let's go again. Except this time, we're gonna try for this baby. We'll see Peter again. Fuck it, I believe in reincarnation. For my son, at least. Our son. He's gonna have a life, and we're gonna live it with him. You with me?"  
  
She smiled, "I'm with you."


End file.
